Dave Trumfio

David Trumfio (born August 16, 1968, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American record producer, mixer, engineer and musician best known for his production work with artists such as Wilco and his recordings with his own band The Pulsars.

Dave Trumfio
Born	(1968-08-16) August 16, 1968
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation(s)	Record producer, mixer, recording engineer, composer, musician
Instruments	Guitar, bass, keys, vocals, programming
Years active	1980s–present
Labels	Kingsize Platters Almo Sounds Rondor/Universal
Associated acts	The Pulsars Ashtray Boy The Mekons Sally Timms
Website	www.kingsizesoundlabs.com

Production work

Trumfio grew up in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, and was a staff engineer after apprenticing at Seagrape Recording Studios.[1] He started his home studio, Kingsize Recording Den, and officially opened Kingsize Soundlabs in Chicago's Wicker Park district in 1991 with partner Mike Hagler.[1] He currently resides in Los Angeles and runs Kingsize SoundLabs, a recording studio in Glassell Park, California.

"Dave Trumfio knew he wanted to make recording his life from the day he bought his first multitrack, a Fostex X15 4 track, way back in 1984."[2]

His early work included recordings by Evil Beaver, The Mekons, Wilco, Alternative TV, Young Marble Giants guitarist Stewart Moxham and British rock band The Pretty Things.[3]

He has since worked with acts such as Wilco,[4][5] OK Go,[6][7] and Patrick Park.[8][9]

Trumfio has worked for independent record labels such as Merge, TeenBeat Records, Touch and Go Records/Quarterstick Records, Minty Fresh, Simple Machines, Darla Records and Vagrant. He has also produced recordings by singer songwriter Patrick Park,[10] chamber pop band The Aluminum Group,[11][12] funk musicians The Baldwin Brothers,[4][13] Number One Cup,[14] and Franklin Bruno.[15]

Trumfio has more recently worked with Built To Spill,[16] Jesus and Mary Chain, American Music Club, Booker T, new wave revivalists The Rentals, and Australian band Papa vs Pretty.[17]

Musician

Trumfio was the frontman in the 90's new-wave band The Pulsars, in which he did "everything but play the drums", his brother Harry acting as the band's drummer.[18] After releasing their debut single, the band signed to Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss's post A&M venture Almo Sounds in 1995,[19] and released an album and two EPs.

He also played in Ashtray Boy,[19][20] The Mekons (intermittently),[19] in Sally Timms' band,[21] and on The Aluminum Group's Plano album.[22] After bassist Sarah Corina left the Mekons in 2015, Trumfio replaced her, at least through 2019.[23][24]

Production discography 1991-1999

• Big Jack Johnson — Daddy, When Is Mama Comin' Home (1991)
• Mr. Fingers — Introduction (1992)
• Certain Distant Suns — Huge E.P. (1992)
• Ashtray Boy — Honeymoon Suite (1993)
• Certain Distant Suns — Happy on the Inside (1994)
• Various Artists — Insurgent Country, Vol.1: For a Life of Sin (Bloodshot Records, 1994)
• DQE — But Me, I Fell Down (1994)
• Pigface — Notes from Thee Underground (1994)
• The Mekons — Retreat from Memphis (1994)
• The Pretty Things — Wine, Women & Whiskey: More Chicago Blues & Rock Sess (1994)
• Jonboy Langford & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts — Misery Loves Company: Songs of Johnny Cash (1995)
• The Handsome Family — Odessa (1995)
• Number One Cup — Possum Trot Plan (1995)
• Holiday — Holiday (1995)[25]
• Number One Cup — Divebomb (1996)
• The Handsome Family — Milk and Scissors (1996)
• Yum-Yum — Dan Loves Patti (1996)
• The Coctails — Live at Lounge Ax (1996)
• Holiday — Ready, Steady, Go (1996)
• Butterglory — Are You Building a Temple in Heaven (1996)
• Rico Bell — Return of Rico Bell (1996)
• Motorhome — Sex Vehicle (1996)
• The Pulsars — Submission to the Masters (1996)
• Godzuki — Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1996)
• The Pulsars — Pulsars (1997)
• Palace Music — Lost Blues & Other Songs (1997)
• Tsunami — Brilliant Mistake (1997)
• hollAnd — Your Orgasm (1997)
• Billy Bragg & Wilco — Mermaid Avenue (1998)
• Aluminum Group — Plano (1998)
• The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group — Sniff (1998)
• Sally Timms — Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos (1999)
• Wilco — Summerteeth (1999)
• Floraline — Floraline (1999)[26]

Production discography 2000-2009

• Tristeza — Dream Signals In Full Circles (2000)
• Aden — Hey 19 (2000)
• Koufax — It Had to Do With Love (2000)
• Billy Bragg & Wilco — Mermaid Avenue, Vol. 2 (2000)
• The Prescriptions — Why We Don't Rent to Women (2000)
• My Morning Jacket — At Dawn (2001)
• Jenny Toomey — Antidote (2001)
• Justin Planasch — Roam (2001)
• Gift Original Soundtrack — Original Soundtrack (2001)
• Wayne Kramer — Adult World (2002)
• Franklin Bruno — Cat May Look at a Queen (2002)
• The Baldwin Brothers — Cooking with Lasers (2002)
• Irving — Good Morning Beautiful (2002)
• Various Artists — MTV2 Handpicked, Vol. 2 (2002)
• Mates of State — Our Constant Concern (2002)
• Koufax — Social Life (2002)
• Ok Go — Get Over It (2002)
• Slowrider — Nacimiento (2002)
• Ok Go — Ok Go (2002)
• Earlimart — Avenues (2003)
• Patrick Park — Loneliness Knows My Name (2003)
• The Sun — Love & Death (2003)
• Jamison Parker — Notes & Photographs EP (2003)
• Underworld Original Soundtrack — Original Soundtrack (2003)
• The Velvet Teen — Elysium (2004)
• Chuck Prophet — Age Of Miracles (2004)
• Kool Keith/Kutmasta Kurt — Break U Off/Takin' It Back (2004)
• Thelonious Monster — California Clam Chowder (2004)
• Simon Joyner — Lost with the Lights On (2004)
• Elkland — Apart (2005)
• Elkland — Apart (The Remixes) (2005)
• Elkland — Golden (2005)
• Nothing Painted Blue — Taste the Flavor (2005)
• Koufax - Hard Times Are in Fashion (2005)
• Grandaddy — Excerpts From The Diary of Todd Zilla (2005)
• Grandaddy — Just Like the Fambly Cat (2006)
• Future Pigeon — Echodelic Sounds of Future Pigeon (2006)
• The Baldwin Brothers — The Return of the Golden Rhodes (2006)
• The Adored — New Language (2006)
• Devics — Push the Heart (2006)
• Nadine Zahr — Underneath the Everyday (2006)
• Earlimart[27] — Mentor Tormentor (2007)
• Acute — Arms Around a Stranger (2007)
• Let's Go Sailing — Chaos in Order (2007)
• Patrick Park — Everyone's in Everyone (2007)
• Kristin Mooney — Hydroplane (2007)
• American Music Club — Golden Age (2008)
• E for Explosion — Reinventing the Heartbeat (2008)
• Great Northern — Sleepy Eepee (2008)
• Devics — Distant Radio (2008)
• The Rentals — Songs About Time (2009)
• Built to Spill — There Is No Enemy (2009)
• MC Lars — This Gigantic Robot Kills (2009)

Production discography 2010-present

(incomplete)

• Papa vs Pretty — White Deer Park (2014)[28]
• Mekons — Deserted (2019)[29]

References

1. Kening, Dan (1996) "Rising stars The Trumfio brothers are ready to shine with a record deal and an upcoming Pulsars' album", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights), November 29, 1996, retrieved 2012-04-16 via Questia Online Library (subscription required)
2. Archived June 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. Weisbard, Eric (1997) "Pulsars Pulsars", SPIN, April 1997, p.155-6, retrieved 2012-01-08
4. Baranowski, Niles (2001) "O.A.R. and the Baldwin Brothers", Riverfront Times, August 15, 2001, retrieved 2012-01-08
5. "Wilco - Summer Teeth". CD Universe. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
6. Archived August 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
7. "Shop Unavailable". VintageMicrophone.com. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
8. Deming, Mark "Come What Will Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08
9. "Patrick Park - Loneliness Knows My Name CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2004-02-03. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
10. Santangelo, Antonia (2003) "Patrick Park Under the Unminding Skies", CMJ New Music Monthly, June 2003, retrieved 2012-01-08
11. Richards, David (1999) "Minty Fresh's Floraline Gives '80s-Style Pop a New Spin for the Present", Billboard, May 1, 1999, p. 16, retrieved 2012-01-08
12. Ankeny, Jason "Plano Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08
13. Farr, Sara (2002) "File TVT Records artist the Baldwin Brothers under 'junktronic'", Prefix, January 1, 2002, retrieved 2012-01-08
14. Bush, Nathan "Possum Trot Plan Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08
15. Sarvady, Glen (2002) "Franklin Bruno - A Cat May Look at a Queen", CMJ New Music Monthly, November 2002, retrieved 2012-01-08
16. Paine, Kelsey (2009) "Buolt to Spill There Is No Enemy", Billboard, October 17, 2009, p. 33, retrieved 2012-01-08
17. "Exclusive: Papa Vs Pretty announce new album, shows". Fasterlouder.com.au. 2013-08-26. Archived from the original on 2013-08-27. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
18. Molanphy, Chris (1997) "Pulsars / Pulsars", CMJ New Music Monthly, May 1997, p. 12, retrieved 2012-01-08
19. Anderson, Lydia (1996) "Pulsars", CMJ New Music Monthly, November 1996, retrieved 2012-01-08
20. Rothschild, David (1996) "Ashtray Boy's Future Rests on New Releases and Psychic Connection", Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1996, p. 6, retrieved 2012-01-08
21. Sullivan, Jim (1995) "Timms' new act: melancholy cabaret", Boston Globe, May 11, 1995, p. 71
22. Romero, Michele (1998) "Music Review: 'Plano' (1998) The Aluminum Group", Entertainment Weekly, August 21, 1998, retrieved 2012-01-08
23. Kirsch, Steve (18 July 2015). ""It looks like an accident...." Live review: The Mekons, Harrisburg, PA, July 17, 2015". Kirsch, Steve. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
24. Terrell, Steve (11 August 2017). "I was at Mekonville. Where were you?". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
25. Klein, Joshua "Holiday Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08
26. Phares, Heather "Floraline Review", Allmusic, retrieved 2012-01-08
27. Archived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
28. "Exclusive: Papa Vs Pretty announce new album, shows". FasterLouder.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
29. Information on the website of Bloodshot Records

External links

• The Pulsars official website
• Dave Trumfio: Monthly Special at vintageking.com
• Interview with Dave Trumfio (Wilco, OK Go, Patrick Park) at vintagemicrophone.com